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SUMMARY
The telecommunications market in Oman is dominated by state-controlled
incumbent operator, Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel). It is the sole
licensed operator of public fixed-line telecommunications services, including
local, long-distance, and international telephony, as well as data
communications, value-added services, and Internet access services. Having
launched a digital cellular network in 1996, the company was also the only
mobile services provider in Oman until March 2005, when new entrant Nawras
Telecom launched its offering.
Nawras won a tender for the second cellular licence in June 2004 and received
the licence in February 2005. Omantel's cellular subsidiary, Oman Mobile, was
given a formal cellular licence in February 2004. Both companies operate in
the cellular market under a three-year period of exclusivity that will expire
in February 2008. Currently, there is no schedule for the award of
third-generation (3G) universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS)
licences in Oman. In the meantime, Oman Mobile is applying for additional 2G
frequencies, most likely in the 1800MHz band. Nawras is relying heavily on a
nationwide interconnection agreement with Oman Mobile and Omantel, allowing it
to serve subscribers in areas of the country where its network has not yet
been deployed. In late-2005, Nawras said it had launched 3G-style services
over its network.
The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Oman (TRA) expects to license a
second national public fixed-line network operator and a second national
public data network operator in "the near future", but has yet to set a
schedule for the offering of these licences. It is widely expected that some
announcements will be made in early-2007.
As part of its agreement with the World Trade Organization (WTO) concerning
the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector, the government of Oman
has completed the privatisation of Omantel. A 30% stake in the company was
sold on the Omani stock market in June/July 2005, with 9% sold to specific
pension and charitable funds. Foreign investors were not able to purchase
Omantel shares at that time, but they could do so from the beginning of
October 2005. There is a 49% cap on the level of foreign ownership in Omantel,
although no single shareholder can presently hold more than 5% of the
company's shares.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
COUNTRY BACKGROUND
- General Information
- Economic and Social Data
- Telecommunications Data
TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATION
SUMMARY
REGULATION
- Oman: Regulatory Bodies and their Responsibilities
- Legislation
- Licensing
- Interconnection
- Universal Service Obligation
- Tariffs
- Numbering/Number Portability
- Spectrum Allocation
COMPETITION
PRIVATISATION
COMMUNICATIONS MARKET INDICATORS
- Comparison of Omantel Operating Results with EU and World Averages, 2004
FIXED-LINE MARKET
MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS MARKET
INTERNET MARKET
MAJOR OPERATORS
MAJOR MANUFACTURERS
INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
INDEX OF TABLES
- General Information
- Economic and Social Data
- Telecommunications Data
- Oman: Regulatory Bodies and their Responsibilities
- Comparison of Omantel Operating Results with EU and World Averages, 2004
- Major Operators
- Major Manufacturers
INDEX OF CHARTS
- Omantel: Growth of Fixed-line Subscriber Base and Penetration Rate, 2002-05
- Oman: Growth of Cellular Subscriber Base and Penetration Rate, 2002-05
- Oman: Market Shares of Mobile Operators, March 2006
- Omantel: Growth of Internet Subscriber Base, 2002-05
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